In today's web (internet) universe, there exist thousands of web services and web data sources that provide valuable data. The various web services and web data sources can be defined using many different data types and formats, which can be either loosely structured or well structured. For example, web data sources may exist in formats such as HTML, XML, JSON, RSS, Atom, microformat, among others. In order for an application developer (developer) to access and utilize data from a given web service/data source, the developer is required to have a detailed understanding of the given web service/data source implementation, such as its particular data types and formats. This can require a developer to spend copious amounts of time learning a particular web service/data source implementation, which can hinder application development.
Additionally, the numerous available web services/data sources can exist in isolation. This requires the developer to perform separate and multiple processes to access and utilize data from multiple web services/data sources. Moreover, the developer may only be able to access data from a given web service/data source in its entirety, which will often require the developer to filter, combine, tweak, and/or shape data following its retrieval from a given web service/data source.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods by which a developer can access and utilize data from multiple and diverse web services and web data sources.